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The first day of the tournament dawns bright and clear in Lanling - there's a chill in the air that speaks of the coming winter, but the sky is clear and the sun is bright and the day promises to warm long before any of the events actually start. It's an auspicious morning.
Officially, the tournament is being hosted by four clans - Jin, Jiang, Nie and Ouyang - but everybody knows this is Jin Ling's time to shine. This is the young clan leader's first official public appearance since the attempt on his life, and though his people have seen him several times, rumours have been rife amongst the cultivation community - the tournament is to be well attended, the visitors all expecting to confirm the rumours or dispel them.
There's talk, too, that Jiang Cheng's involvement in the planning is largely to try and repair his own damaged reputation, and Ouyang are there to strengthen their own ties with the Jin clan rather than improve their shaky relationship with the Jiang. Nobody's quite sure why the Nie clan are involved at all, though recently a few more rumours have surfaced about recent 'planning' trips to Lotus Pier...
In short, the gossip is everywhere and everybody who is anybody wants to be there to find out the truth.
It's the grandest tournament to have been held in quite some time - days of feasting and competition intended to bestow glory and accolades upon the greatest cultivators in the land. The Lan clan are not known, of course, to seek such things, but they similarly would not shy away from the chance to prove their worth and put their students to the test.
There are yet more rumours that Lan Xichen himself will be attending - it is known that the clan leader has come out of his seclusion, but he hasn't yet left Cloud Recesses, could this be his first public appearance as well? Not to mention the talk of Hanguang Jun's long lost son...
Officially, the tournament is being hosted by four clans - Jin, Jiang, Nie and Ouyang - but everybody knows this is Jin Ling's time to shine. This is the young clan leader's first official public appearance since the attempt on his life, and though his people have seen him several times, rumours have been rife amongst the cultivation community - the tournament is to be well attended, the visitors all expecting to confirm the rumours or dispel them.
There's talk, too, that Jiang Cheng's involvement in the planning is largely to try and repair his own damaged reputation, and Ouyang are there to strengthen their own ties with the Jin clan rather than improve their shaky relationship with the Jiang. Nobody's quite sure why the Nie clan are involved at all, though recently a few more rumours have surfaced about recent 'planning' trips to Lotus Pier...
In short, the gossip is everywhere and everybody who is anybody wants to be there to find out the truth.
It's the grandest tournament to have been held in quite some time - days of feasting and competition intended to bestow glory and accolades upon the greatest cultivators in the land. The Lan clan are not known, of course, to seek such things, but they similarly would not shy away from the chance to prove their worth and put their students to the test.
There are yet more rumours that Lan Xichen himself will be attending - it is known that the clan leader has come out of his seclusion, but he hasn't yet left Cloud Recesses, could this be his first public appearance as well? Not to mention the talk of Hanguang Jun's long lost son...
Those wishing to gawk, however, should have gotten up early, for the Lan delegation is one of the first to arrive. Xichen is indeed there, along with the chief cultivator and, of course, the incorrigible Wei Wuxian, and they climb the steps of Lanling followed by a column of young men, clad in pristine white and walking two by two in perfect step.
And at the head of that column, walking beside his sworn brother, is a young man whose serene expression perfectly hides the turmoil in his heart, and he can't help but be reminded that the last time he was here everything was different.
